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Europe Will Select Its Next Major Science Mission in November

Posted by Van Kane on 2013/09/25 01:22 CDT | 2 comments

The European Space Agency will announce two major science missions this November, one of which is likely to be devoted to solar system exploration.

Mosaic of Low-Altitude Mapping Orbit images of Cornelia crater, Vesta

Two new ways to browse Vesta: 2. Vesta Image data browser

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/09/16 10:57 CDT

A few weeks ago I received an email pointing me to a really cool new map-based browser to Dawn's Vesta image data.

Photo-atlas of asteroid Vesta based on Low Altitude Mapping Orbit (LAMO) image data

Two new ways to browse Vesta: 1. Vesta Low-Altitude Mapping Orbit (LAMO) Atlas

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/09/16 10:57 CDT

Last week was the European Planetary Science Congress in London, and there's been a lot of science news. One thing that caught my eye Friday was the publication of a new atlas for Vesta.

Dawn journal: Distant interplanetary adventurer

Posted by Marc Rayman on 2013/08/30 04:28 CDT | 1 comments

Traveling confidently and alone, Dawn continues to make its way through the silent depths of the main asteroid belt. The interplanetary adventurer is on its long journey to the uncharted dwarf planet Ceres, by far the largest of all asteroids.

Producing global views of Vesta from archival data

Posted by Björn Jónsson on 2013/08/21 12:18 CDT | 3 comments

Björn Jónsson produces beautiful color and 3D global mosaics of Vesta from Dawn's archival data.

First light image of the M33 galaxy from the 0.76m (30 in) telescope at the Astronomical Research Institute in Illinois, USA

Asteroid Telescope First Light

Posted by Bruce Betts on 2013/08/16 03:04 CDT | 4 comments

Using a Shoemaker NEO Grant a new telescope is operating in Illinois to do asteroid tracking.

Center for Solar System Studies (CS3) in Landers, California

Determining Near Earth Asteroids’ Properties from the California Desert

Posted by Bruce Betts on 2013/08/05 05:04 CDT | 2 comments

Shoemaker NEO Grant winner Bob Stephens specializes in lightcurves of near Earth asteroids to determine their physical properties. Here is an update on recent progress using his 2013 Planetary Society grant. This is the first in a series of updates on Shoemaker NEO Grant winners.

Pluto on the Eve of Exploration by New Horizons meeting, July 2013

Pluto on the Eve of Exploration by New Horizons: A problem of cartography

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/07/30 05:44 CDT | 6 comments

Last Thursday at the Pluto Science Conference there was a surprising and interesting talk by Amanda Zangari, who pointed out a serious problem with Pluto cartography.

Terra Cognita

Posted by Bill Dunford on 2013/07/29 01:18 CDT | 4 comments

Pushing back the frontier, and filling in the blank spaces on the map.

Found a Killer Asteroid? Who Ya Gonna Call?
Tim Spahr of the Minor Planet Center on Planetary Radio

Posted by Mat Kaplan on 2013/07/08 04:19 CDT

Astronomer Timothy Spahr directs the Minor Planet Center, the global clearinghouse for asteroids, comets and other relatively small objects in the solar system, including moons. He also coordinates the Society's Shoemaker NEO grant program.

Planetary Society Hangout: Arkyd Telescopes, Planetary Resources, Chris Lewicki
Thursday, Jun 27, noon PDT/1900 UTC

Posted by Bruce Betts on 2013/06/27 11:15 CDT | 2 comments

We talked to Chris Lewicki, President of Planetary Resources, about their upcoming Arkyd telescopes including one for the public, asteroid mining, and more. Hosted by Bruce Betts with Jennifer Vaughn.

How radar really works: The steps involved before getting an image

Posted by Alessondra Springmann on 2013/06/24 02:10 CDT | 3 comments

Arecibo Observatory is known for its 1000-foot diameter telescope and its appearances in Goldeneye and Contact. Aside from battling Bond villains and driving red diesel Jeeps around the telescope (grousing at the site director about the funding status of projects is optional), several hundred hours a year of telescope time at Arecibo go toward radar studies of asteroids.

Goldstone radar images of asteroid (285263) 1998 QE2

Say "hi!" to asteroid -- actually, asteroids -- (285263) 1998 QE2

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/05/30 06:51 CDT | 8 comments

A large asteroid is passing reasonably close to Earth in a few hours, and astronomers at the great radio telescopes at Goldstone and Arecibo are zapping it. The latest discovery: QE2, like many asteroids, is a binary.

Jaime Nomen and Bruce Betts at Planetary Defense Conference 2013

Planetary Defense Conference 2013 Part 2
Shoemaker NEO Grants

Posted by Bruce Betts on 2013/05/29 05:25 CDT

Second part of a three part wrap up to April's Planetary Defense Conference: a report on Planetary Shoemaker NEO Grant related activities and people at the Planetary Defense Conference 2013

Planetary Defense Conference 2013 Part 1
State of Research and Videos to Watch

Posted by Bruce Betts on 2013/05/24 05:29 CDT | 2 comments

First part of a 3 part wrap up to April's Planetary Defense Conference: a very brief review of the status of research in asteroid threat related fields based on the conference, report on special activities at the conference, and links to video and audio related to the conference.

Bill Nye endorsing the Move An Asteroid Competition

Asteroids – what you can do

Posted by Alex Karl on 2013/05/23 01:52 CDT | 2 comments

Partnering with our friends from The Planetary Society, the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), whose members hail from all over the globe, is bringing you an update on our activities and something you can join in on—at least if you are a student or young professional aged 18–35.

How radar tracking of asteroids helps us know where they are

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/05/23 11:32 CDT | 5 comments

2013 Planetary Defense Conference Tabletop Exercise - Rusty Schweikart Cathy Plesko

Saving the Planet can be Exciting!
The Asteroid Emergency Response Tabletop Exercise at the Planetary Defense Conference

Posted by Mat Kaplan on 2013/05/07 05:02 CDT

Planetary Radio for the week of May 6 visits the Planetary Defense Conference one last time to join a "tabletop" simulation of a killer asteroid threat.

An Amazing Evening for Planetary Defense
Join us via Planetary Radio and complete video coverage.

Posted by Mat Kaplan on 2013/04/23 07:12 CDT | 1 comments

Bill Nye, Bruce Betts, Mat Kaplan, Meteorite Man Geoffrey Notkin and stars of planetary science at the Planetary Defense Conference public event in Flagstaff.

Oblique view of the lunar limb from Apollo 10

LPSC 2013: The Smaller They Are, The Better They Shake

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/03/25 08:04 CDT | 1 comments

Really cool movies from Jim Richardson propose to explain how the same physics of impact cratering can produce such differently-appearing surfaces as those of the Moon, large asteroids like Eros, and teeny ones like Itokawa.